Struggling to meet 1200 errrrdayyyy.

missbrendalynn

Hey guys,

So my suggested daily calorie goal is 1200 and from what I gathered going through the forums here, I'm supposed to eat back the calories gained from exercising which bumps up the daily goal to about 1450 - 1600, depending on what I do.

(whoa long sentence, sorry haha).

On days that I *DON'T* work out, even meeting 1200 calories is a bit of an effort. I'm always 200-300 calories below, 100 on a good day. I hit the gym about 4-5 days a week so at the end of the day, I always have an excess of 3500-500 calories to spare. The thing is I'm really not hungry but I feel I'm doing something wrong with so much calories left :huh:

My question is, do I eat back the calories even though I'm not hungry or should I just eat for the sake of eating, to meet the daily goal? What about you guys? Do ya'll eat even though you're not hungry?

Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

B

freebirdfitness

Find easy ways to add cals in Put yogurt in your smoothie, put butter or mayo on your sandwich, add cheese. 1/3 cup of nuts is 200-300 cals your shortage right there Protein bar is also 200-300 cals.

I wont go to crazy over listin items because as above, you can search for this

helpfit101

Eat it back.

Or not.

But be consistent. Choose one or the other.

And yes this question is asked rather a lot.

As to the 1200 it may be too low. But you do look tiny so it may be enough.

erickirb

Drink more cals, easy and not filling. Avoid lite and diet products and opt for full fat versions. Add olive oil to soups, sauces and salads. Take a jar of peanut butter a spoon, and go to town.

erickirb

Eat it back.

Or not.

But be consistent. Choose one or the other.

And yes this question is asked rather a lot.

As to the 1200 it may be too low. But you do look tiny so it may be enough.

I would say if you don't eat them back then your caloric intake should be higher than 1200 everyday (using the TDEE method) don't eat only 1200 and exercise.

GinaNilce

Typically not being able to eat enough is all about the mind. I have to eat somewhere between 1800 and 2400 calories because I'm breastfeeding and I work out almost every day, and honestly I'm at a point where it's no longer a struggle. I've been at a place where I felt full on 900 calories, but you have to realize that that is incredibly unhealthy. It's not possible to meet your macros on less than 1200/day. It's not so much about more food as it is different kinds of food. I used to exist on primarily fruits and veggies with just a little bit of lean protein, and yeah I felt full, but I wasn't giving my body the fuel it needed. Throw in some nuts, nut butters, healthy oils (like olive & coconut) in salad dressing, drink a glass of milk, eat some cheese, yogurt, etc. . It's not necessarily about MORE food, it's about nutritionally and calorically dense food. 1200 calories can be a lot food, if you make it a lot of food.

jacksonpt

Drink more cals, easy and not filling. Avoid lite and diet products and opt for full fat versions. Add olive oil to soups, sauces and salads. Take a jar of peanut butter a spoon, and go to town.

Agreed.

Specifically to your question... yes you should be eating them back. If you're struggling to hit 1200 cals, then almost nothing else matters (this is one of the few situations where "it depends" probably isn't correct) - yes, eat them back.


If you are on this site to lose weight, then that implies you are currently overweight, which suggests you do in fact know how to eat more than 1200 calories. The problem is you're probably struggling to find that happy medium, where you're not living on fast food or eating everything in the house at every meal, but you're also not eating like a bird, and only eating "diet" foods. The trick to long term success really is finding that happy medium. Having 1 or 2 pieces of pizza, not a whole pizza. Having ice cream for dessert, but balancing it out with a salad, grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner (not 2 whoppers).

I don't subscribe to the "all things in moderation" slogan, but moderation is part of the bigger picture here.

VelvetMorning

I wish I had this problem! :P Anyway, try eating some fruits if you aren't into the idea of eating "junky" foods to gain calories. Bananas are (generally) 100 calories a piece and not very filling, so you could eat 2 or so of those and catch up with a healthy alternative. As far as I know vegetables are low across the board (almost trivial, even ~ though I'd def. look at the calories before taking my word on this) so you could always make some kind of vegetable dish with a moderately caloried dressing, so at least that way you are still getting ample nutrition. I'm in the same boat as you ~ I'm very small and have to eat 1200 calories just to maintain. I just don't have any issues meeting this! lol. Here is what I usually eat in a day:

1 cup dry rice cooked (~600 calories)
1/2 cup tomato sauce on the rice (~40-80 calories, depending on brand)
2 bananas (~200 calories)
2 apples (~160 calories)
1 peach (~60 calories)
1 cup peas, corn, carrots (~100-200 calories depending on what kind of peas I use)
A few handfuls of spinach, bok choy, etc salad mix! (~??? calories :P )

If nothing else, this might give you some kind of options. :-) Good luck!

Edit: I completely agree with the mama above! Some fats & otherwise "icky" sounding things ARE required. Olive oil is a GREAT way to get this and is 120 calories per tablespoon (which is a very good amount of olive oil, btw, I did this the other day :P) - same with hass avacados, all nuts, etc. Super delicious, too!

0somuchbetter0

Are you sure you need to lose 5kg? You look so tiny!

jacksonpt

Drink more cals, easy and not filling. Avoid lite and diet products and opt for full fat versions. Add olive oil to soups, sauces and salads. Take a jar of peanut butter a spoon, and go to town.

Agreed.

Specifically to your question... yes you should be eating them back. If you're struggling to hit 1200 cals, then almost nothing else matters (this is one of the few situations where "it depends" probably isn't correct) - yes, eat them back.


If you are on this site to lose weight, then that implies you are currently overweight, which suggests you do in fact know how to eat more than 1200 calories. The problem is you're probably struggling to find that happy medium, where you're not living on fast food or eating everything in the house at every meal, but you're also not eating like a bird, and only eating "diet" foods. The trick to long term success really is finding that happy medium. Having 1 or 2 pieces of pizza, not a whole pizza. Having ice cream for dessert, but balancing it out with a salad, grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner (not 2 whoppers).

I don't subscribe to the "all things in moderation" slogan, but moderation is part of the bigger picture here.

Scratch all that. Based on your picture and your goal to lose roughly 4kgs (~8.5lbs)... I'd suggest rethinking your goals/expectations. Why exactly do you want to lose weight?

missbrendalynn

Hi guys!

I really dislike the taste of protein shakes/bars and cheese/milk/mayo/rice (not very Asian of me haha) but bread, avocado, nuts, olive oil, peanut butter & banana - totally doable. I never buy reduced fat products, go big (on taste) or go home

I don't think the inability to meet caloric goals is a mind thing and I do eat a variety of stuff but I find that if I have one heavy meal (breakfast usually), the rest of the day is pretty sorted. I find that I can skip lunch and have a little pre workout snack, then maybe a light dinner and still be a couple of hundreds of calories due. As far as nutritionally and calorically dense food, I'll get on it!

Holy...one tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories?? :noway: I'd never have thought that lol. Seems like the easiest way to meet caloric demands!

I'm not on MFP to lose weight, more of an inventory/see what I'm putting into my body kinda purpose. I'm about 170cm and 55kgs which puts me in the underweight category BUTTT since spot reduction of fat is impossible, I need to lose a bit of weight and reduce bodyfat % to tighten up everywhere else. I have skinny fat I guess?

Thanks HEAPS for all the suggestions guys! :drinker:

B

Kadoober

"I never buy reduced fat products, go big (on taste) or go home."

I like you, Miss Brendalyn.

TeaBea

Hey guys,

So my suggested daily calorie goal is 1200 and from what I gathered going through the forums here, I'm supposed to eat back the calories gained from exercising which bumps up the daily goal to about 1450 - 1600, depending on what I do.

(whoa long sentence, sorry haha).

On days that I *DON'T* work out, even meeting 1200 calories is a bit of an effort. I'm always 200-300 calories below, 100 on a good day. I hit the gym about 4-5 days a week so at the end of the day, I always have an excess of 3500-500 calories to spare. The thing is I'm really not hungry but I feel I'm doing something wrong with so much calories left :huh:

My question is, do I eat back the calories even though I'm not hungry or should I just eat for the sake of eating, to meet the daily goal? What about you guys? Do ya'll eat even though you're not hungry?

Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

B

It's really important for people who are close to goal to eat their exercise calories back. You simply do not have much left in reserve. Not eating calories back (close to goal especially) just invites muscle loss.

Are you working out to KEEP muscle? ..... Then fuel your workouts.

Not feeling hungry .... this is not about proper nutrition. People who eat high volume/low calorie foods are often too full to eat anything substantial. Are you meeting your protein numbers? Under calories ....nope. Are you meeting your fat numbers? Under calories ....nope.

Add in some calorie dense foods ..... nuts, nut butters, olive oil, cheese ..... these have tiny portions & are good for you.

missbrendalynn

Anddddddd I like you for liking me Kadoober :flowerforyou: glad you liked my little friendly neighborhood advice haha.

Hi TeaBea,

Totals 777 72 32 48 1,633 30
Your Daily Goal 1,351 185 45 50 2,500 27
Remaining 574 113 13 2 867 -3
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar

My eyes hurt looking at the crappy lack of margins, sorry about that but yeah that is what my macros look like for Monday yesterday

"It's really important for people who are close to goal to eat their exercise calories back. You simply do not have much left in reserve. Not eating calories back (close to goal especially) just invites muscle loss. "

Not having much in reserve - that is a really good point. I guess calorically dense food is the answer to my problems. Thanks heaps! :drinker: